Why People Can't Find Jobs! DUH!

Today I received this lovely "thank you" note from Firefox...

From Mozilla, a non-profit organization and developer of Firefox

Hi there,
As 2011 comes to a close, we at Mozilla want to say thank you to all of our Firefox users, supporters and community members. Quite simply, we do what we do because of you.

They sent it to Yahoo!

~December 2011 ~*~ Happy Holidays~

It seems like it is getting harder and harder to write my Holiday letter each year, that I find myself putting it off as much as possible. There is so much to write, then there is the angle of how much do people really want to know about, especially because this year has been especially tough for my family. No, I am not here to get the pity vote. That is just the reality of it. I guess we can’t always write about rainbows and unicorns. We are all healthy, thank God, knock on wood, and all that other good stuff… things financially are tight which has caused the bulk of my stress but I would imagine they are with you as well. I am grateful to say that we are not about being in survival or anything like that… emotionally, physically, things are taking their toll; boy I am beginning to feel my age!

And then it feels like time literally has sped up…Where did this year go? I know we say that every year but Jeez Louise… I can remember feeling invincible… right? Now I couldn’t stay up all night if I wanted to… unless of course, I am nursing a sick child and I have been up since 4am, like today!

What really bothers me about the chunks of time that have gone missing for some odd reason this year... I haven’t been to see people that really matter to me, like our many Georgia friends or my aunts.... One was such a support for me when Grace was first born and I have not even taken her to meet Grace. It’s important to me that my relationships not suffer. Like flowers, they need to be nurtured. It seems like unless you live with me, then we don’t talk often… and sometimes at all. I truly apologize for that. I do miss my familial ties and I am feeling a bit like a hypocrite since I hold a standard in my own relationships – they won’t be one-sided.

You know it’s not from lack of desire. It really is that I am just plain pooped. Heck these kids alone are a full-time job! But I manage to slip in a little ‘me’ time as well. But that is few and far in-between. I try to connect where I can. Please know that you are not far from my heart. <3 It’s like time creeps up and I still have so much to do. And before I know it, it’s Christmastime.

So why do I write these letters? Well part of it is because it seems over the past few years especially, this is the best way for me to connect with the people I care about. It definitely gives me an excuse to and it kicks me in the butt to put myself out there! If you are reading this, then you matter to me. Now that won’t necessarily get you any prize or anything but what it does do is say that you are my friend… not just FB style, the one who left heartprints. There is some path we are on together on this crazy ride and I for one… am grateful for the opportunity to be here with you. I guess because I feel so incredibly blessed with my own life that I want to share so if there is something I can do for you, please let me. I can even offer a virtual hug, right now!

I try to make my life meaningful, by bringing the things that hold meaning in my own life. A lot of that comes from raising my children. I know that I didn’t give birth to these beautiful kids… I get a lot of people that tell me how I am doing such a good thing for these kids but I defend this statement a lot, and this is the perfect time to explain my actions. Children are such an incredible light source. They are the purest love in action, and when I was afforded the opportunity (and the blessing) to be part of that sharing, then it was ME who is the lucky one! And in return, I get to help mold them into little taxpaying members of society. (Egads… hopefully not Republican (Sorry but I just had to go there!))

So a lot of what we have been doing is just day-to-day life stuff. So here is a recap of the years events, cuz trust me, that would bore you to tears to have to listen to my daily itinerary.

I love my work. Love the marketing and PR stuff! I am building a voice-over business and built my home studio so it was cool to earn my first dollar through writing and producing my first commercial at home! I have worked on just a couple of events, rather than my usual 3-4 major events… so I could spend more time at home being Mom. I am finding it hard NOT to work. Things are settling down, so this coming year will be all about new doors, new openings, and new opportunities that are continuing to build from the foundation I have been working from. Hey but guess what??!! Now that I am old… I finally know what I want to be when I grow up!

I can honestly say that I have been blessed in my career at the opportunities I have accomplished. I have worked with and for my mentors, internationally known artists, musicians, and cinema, TV and soap personalities, authors… And you know what I have learned… well I really already knew it… people are people. No one is more special than the other... and the true stars are those who give so much of themselves… NOT the celebrities. Give freely: there is nothing but good to be received!

My writing has been great! I have been writing under both names, which has been affective in keeping a couple of my many personalities satisfied. I have a successful and growing blog, Opinion8d1, along with two facebook accounts, (one maxed at 5000 friends!) as well as all of the social media outlets (did I mention I was a social media guru!) So for my career, obviously changes from the Business Manager! Actually, having my extensive business background has been very beneficial in the production of a major fundraising event for New Orleans, NOLAFest…

Oh I just finished (and mailed two copies this week) a book I just wrote on Pet Adoption... from the perspective of a pup! (so wish me luck, cross your fingers, and all that jazz. Come on, I would do it for you!! ) The book stems from the adoption of our puppy, Bella, my 8 month old black lab mix. We love her bunches… sometimes; even after she has eaten countless shoes and toys, she is still here  Once we got past that annoying puppy stuff, she has been an absolutely sweet joy… especially at night when she cuddles her massive 30 pounds on me. Ever tried to move the dead weight of a dog who does NOT want to go outside? I think we might have failed her as a guard dog; she may pin and lick a perpetrator to d… er, discomfort. For this reason, I won’t be sending a return address.

Altho still single, ain’t nothing happening there either and I am OK with that! I am way too tired to even think about bringing another person into this equation. Altho Michael asked Santa for a dad last year for Christmas. Literally. YIKES. Michael, Grace, Bella, and Des make this house very full!

Michael is 8 and in 3rd grade. He is a Math and Science Whiz! In fact, he just won an award for passing the Math semester Benchmark test and he score 100! He even went to an award ceremony for being the only one of two students that passed with 100%. He loves to read, loves math and in just a couple of months, has mastered his multiplication tables, up to 12’s. Do you know how long it took me? And I even had to write my times tables out as a punishment as a child. Hmm…? Glad he gets it.

Grace is a beautiful light. She is 2 now. Grace is absolutely adorable, I mean, people see her and just melt. Her smile, her dimples… she could be on TV. LOL. I laugh because she is already a DIVA. She loves to sing and can sing the words to any song … (altho she didn’t even talk until just a few short months ago.) music in general (elevator, car, zoo) will make her start bebopping, dancing, and singing. Then on the flip-side, she is a tough nut; she is very strong-willed. We have been working with her through Occupational Therapy. (Asperger’s runs in the family.) Her progress has been amazing. 6 months ago, Grace was barely speaking, maybe a vocabulary of 20 words. 6 months ago, one kiss was a rare occurrence and now I am grateful for all of the kisses I get! My heart just melts when Grace squeak’s, “I Love You too, Mommy.”

I am not sure what this year holds for me. Tough question for me. I have a plan but we all know the joke, ‘if you want to make God laugh… tell your plans. Well that is what happened this year. I am hoping to pick up an internship, my last internship. I am shooting for Public Relations or Event Planning, or Programming at another station. (Hey, I interviewed at POWER and KDAY last Spring so I am going big!) I am getting my resume brushed off and ready to go for the New Year! (More finger crossing please!)

Well folks, the ride is about to stop. Please exit on your left. I hope you got to walk a minute in my shoes and aren’t attempting to run yet! Kidding. That was my attempt to be humorous…even I got that it wasn’t funny. Besides, humor isn’t where I am at now. I am being serious. We all need heart-prints… for life to be Heart-felt.

I wish you tons of blessings, from joy and laughter, to prosperity and bounds and bounds of good luck. Peace is nice. Friends are even better. Loved ones, well we should all have plenty of those... but if you don’t have someone, please connect with me somehow so we can support each other. I am here wherever, whenever. K? If you need someone to talk to, I am a great listener. And the best part is that I really do care!

Remember, if you are reading my words to you right now, it’s because you are never far from my heart- for you are part of my own life’s tapestry.

Love,

Morgana Reeves

Holy Crap Batman… Christmas is Sunday!

Are you like me, a person who was being dragged through life by the pages of her calendar…? LIFE, as seen through the image of the rear view mirror? I can’t believe it’s already Christmas, I mean it’s here, Sunday!

What the HELL happened to this year?

Are you one of those people who have had everything prepared for Christmas for weeks now? The tree went up right after Thanksgiving and you are now in the second week of the full-scale war of Christmas decorations you have going on with your neighbors… all the way down to gift wrapping and the preparation for the special toast said during Christmas Dinner?

Thank God I mailed out my Christmas cards on Tuesday. 

Sadly, I actually thought I was early this year until I was standing in line and noticed that today was the last date to get your gifts mailed out in order to arrive in time for the holiday. For a second, I had a moment of angst... until I remember, OH YEAH... too broke to mail anything this year. So that made it very simple for me!

I used to send everything out early December. But those cards and my holiday letter are written later each year. In fact, I think I even mailed out my Christmas cards late last year… oh well, so we have the Sum up the Year Letter, rather than the Holiday letter.

Tomatoes, tomatoes… <------ LOL … you get my drift!

All I know is that I woke up this morning and realized that Christmas isn’t next week... like I thought it was... like I was prepared for! When you add Christmas Eve as another partial holiday that we slide in there in order to see both families… it’s even closer than we think.

You know, I noticed something was fishy when I began writing the wrong dates, dating the months incorrectly as it appeared that the past just whizzed right by... July was really August, so when September sashayed into October, almost claiming Halloween... I knew I was in big trouble. It seemed like just another harmless Labor day, (especially with the crazy weather we have in SoCo recording over 90 on Thanksgiving) I knew we were in trouble. I was wearing white, for heaven’s sake.

And it’s not like we don’t get plenty of notice as we peruse through the aisles of the larger retail stores… Heck, I am shopping for summer in February and Winter when it’s 100 friggen degrees out. But it’s me right? I guess I am the one not paying attention.

So then I ask myself, ‘What am I so focused on?’ Life, work, kids, religion, friends, more work, bills, OMG politics UGH! And don’t forget... I have a job to squeeze in there somewhere! Geez people, get off my case already! And yet ‘Dunno.’ is the only plausible answer I can come up with. It’s not like I have any major accomplishments to say, I was soooo busy with this… and before I knew it, it was July! Nope. To quote Mother Nature, ‘There will be no fooling her this time!’ Or… in this case is it Father Time…?

Just do me a favor during this holiday season. Close your eyes and pretend it is snowing outside. (For some of you this should be really easy!) Imagine the fireplace crackling from the fire and the smell of roasted nuts. (Hopefully NOT the boyfriend’s for SOMETHING stupid he managed to pull off!)

Ahem.. sorry. Got distracted. (hmmm, I am kinda noticing a theme here)

When you have that magical hearth scene, picture the tree all decorated… the smell of pine cones, and the hot chocolate on the stove. Hear the voices of the young and the old in your life.

See them, one by one and in your mind’s eye, and tell them that you love them. 

Go on... sure, you can hug them. Everyone likes a nice big hug… it’s this girl’s answer to Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Speaking of this girl… make sure you picture me in your mind’s eye too. Know that I wish nothing but the best for you and your loved ones. May your holiday be blessed, however you choose to enjoy it. 

I know mine will be just a little more happy, loved, and full of laughter and joy... all because you are in it.

Thanks for walking through the trenches on the bad days, and for sipping champagne on those days we had everything to celebrate for and for the rest of the days in between!
Oh and thanks for not laughing at me when you saw me in my pony tail and sweats. 

And not to sound too corny like a Christmas song but... May your Holiday… be Bright!!!

xoxo Morgana Reeves
Opinion8d1.com

WTF!! New Language Giving Cursing a Pass! FAIL!

You know life can be a bitch. So can interacting via the internet and email. Or by phone, instant messaging. Then there is facebook, blah, blah, blah... and even the secret language of texting. There are so many different ways for us to communicate... by NOT communicating, that I find it all to be rather impersonal and detached.

Without being able to process the tone behind our words, people are often misheard or misunderstood; in fact, how many times have you gotten into an argument over something you said that was twisted around because it went through someone else’s emotional filter?

Text.. or Not to Text... That is the question. So I asked, are all of our means of communication really good ways of connecting with others? Do we want to connect or are we merely looking for ways to get the point across without having to actually face someone? Have we become that far disconnected?

We are this technological generation, with the emphasis on logic, fighting for the latest versions of a smart phone or TV. We are at the point where the mind is the control box… not human emotions. We do the brain's bidding... not the heart, as it should be. But is a text enough to send the emotional value that goes with a message we might send? I don't know, maybe if we write the text in color? Red for mad, pink for happy, and blue for sad… we will be able to send the note over with its expected emotion... perhaps a step up from the emoticon! WTF!!

By the way, WTF!! which means ‘What the Fuck.’ And in case you don’t know it, Fuck is considered to be a bad word... (altho brilliant I say... after all, a word like 'Fuck' can be used as a noun, verb, and adjective... and all at the same time! So in my book, that can't be all that bad of a word) But if I type it as WTF!! I can say What the FUCK anywhere I please. In fact, anyone can say it… WTF!!?

Earlier I was speaking to a friend. I told her about this video called, ‘What If This Were Your Child?’ It’s an incredibly disturbing, heart-wrenching confessionof a young man… no, a boy … who wants to do harm to himself.

Jonah has been bullied for 6 years now, to the point where he has repeatedlycut on himself. The bullying started in the 2nd grade; the same age as my son as I hear the some of the same sadness echoing in my son's own words about the mean kids at school. Watching this young man in so much pain was heartbreaking. I pray that as a parent, of course I don’t ever hope see this happen to my son, let alone any child... feeling like he has no other choices but...? WTF!!

Anyway… curious about the video? Here is a link.  Sorry… I digress. oops I feel just a little morel left in there.

But we as a community need to put an end to bullying on both ends. Children generally just don't wake up one day and say, Hey.. When I grow up, I want to be a big Dickhead. It's up to each one of us to hold each other up in our communities, in our families... even in our dreams. Communities… what’s that you say?  Sadly, it seems like we no longer need communities and neighbors and even, the human touch. What we NEED is more technology. MORE... WTF!!

Do you know this video was shared by a little less than 6,200 people? The videos that were shared along with this one, “The Difference Between a Bank and a Gun” and “Does Anybody Really Want a Coat this Cheap?” Of course both with courageous messages; but not a child standing in front of your, wiping the tears from his eyes as he tells you how he failed himself. Both netted over 300,000 shares each… with the Bank and the Gun tipping the scales at over 1M shares. WOW. Oops I mean, WTF!!

I get it... you gots to know where your money is.

So are we that numb? Living in that much denial to not be able to see, and share his pain --because he is gay? I mean, maybe had he not openly admitted he was gay… then we could have shared this video with our friends.

But THAT is an abomination… of God. And an abomination is an abomination; therefore, the boy must be an abomination… right? By that justification, does he deserve what he is feeling. WRONG! Altho my son isn’t gay, he isn’t normal… He is autistic. But here I go again, back to topic of bullying and denial and not what this article is about.

I'm SO CONFUSED...

Isn’t that saying that dirty word... ?              

ok, ok... I promise to stick with the topic... WTF!!

I mean is it ok that we continue to throw the F Bomb around, like it was BRB?!! WTF?? I mean huh? Both seem to fit. Just as serious…

Parents, isn't this what you have to put a quarter in the coin jar for? And yet, here we are... making one of the worst abominations of words... utterly casual... When we use WTF!! for just about everything, like we are flipping around pancakes. Would you like Syrup with that? 

Yet it’s so common that even our kids use it, yet, the 'F Word' that us so bad it earned its own initial, 'F?'  Wow.

So let me get this straight. I can’t say Fuck cuz then I would be a potty mouth. But, I can merely change it to WTF!! and then I can say it in the open…  I can write it out, text it, heck any format that will allow it, like facebook, Twitter, IM, LinkedIn... any application that allows it. The biggest offenders being... take a guess people… parents. Noooo, your children. My children. OUR children.

So let’s all be happy parents with loving children and work on can expanding language to include something other than inappropriate and not as defamatory words... Like WTH!!

Cuz you know if you don’t actually say it... it doesn’t count. Yea… Right? Have I got some beachfront property I was dying to talk to you about…